Game apparatus.



W. J. THOMAS.

GAME APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.

' witnesses PATENTED APR. 30, 1907.

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PATENTED APR. so, 1907.

W. J. THOMAS.

GAME APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION IILBD AUG. 2, 1906.v

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c A Z WVALTER J. THOMAS, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

GAME APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 30, 1907.

Application filed August 2, 1906. Serial No. 328,959.

T0 at whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, WALTER J. Thomas, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Game Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements made in game apparatus of that class or description in which a projectile of some kind is shot by the player from a springgun or similar device from one end of an alley or passage-way toward pockets or receptacles situated at the opposite end, with the object of lodging the projectile in a selected one of the receptacles.

The invention consists in a plane table or surface of novel construction and arrangement having pockets at one end and means for selecting and placing in operative condition any selected one of said pockets and rendering inoperative for the time all the re maining pockets; also, in the combination of a table having an inclined surface and pock-' ets at the upper end of the incline each provided with a drop-bottom, means for dropping the bottom of any selected one of the pockets, and spring-actuated means for impelling a disk, or similarly shaped projectile, up the inclined surface in the direction of the pockets.

The invention embraces also a novel construction and combination of table having an inclined surface a pivotally mounted springactuated gun at the lower end of the incline; pockets at the upper end of the incline, each having a drop-bottom; and means for bringing any selected one of the pockets into action by setting the remaining pockets out of operative condition, the inclined table being provided with a discharge-aperture at the bottom of the incline.

The following description explains at length the nature of the said improvements and the manner in which I proceed to construct, produce and carry out the same, the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification being therein referred to by figures and letters.

Figure l of the drawings is a perspective vieW of the apparatus; showing one end of the table cut oil, exposing to view he internal mechanism. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the inclined table and the pockets at the upper end of the incline, and the means for setting it into or out of operative position from the front. Fig. 3 is a view of the spring-actuated pivotallyanounted gun. Fig. 4 is a top-plan of the table. Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-section looking from the rear toward the front.

The table A inclosing the mechanism, has an inclined surface a, and a space or compartment D beneath for collecting and retaining the disks or projections 1) used in the game. Usually the top a is inclined at an angle of 45, or thereabout, and is covered by a sheet of glass I) fixed in position parallel with the inclined surface and at suflicient distance away from it to give room between that surface and the glass for the disk to travel when it is projected through the aperture d provided in the front of the case.

The gun G, forming that part of the apparatus which is provided for iinpelling the disks up the incline, has a barrel formed of a flattened tube, with an opening 9 in the top for introducing the disks into the breech. The impelling means consists of a flat-spring f fixed at the lower end beneath the butt or handle it, and extending upward from that point through a slot in the barrel behind the breechopening. The free end of the spring is usually provided with a knob or lingerpiece, by means of which the spring is drawn back or put in tension and then released to act against the projectile. The gun is mounted on pivots /r in the slot d in the front of the table A, through which it extends into the space between the inclined surface a and the glass 1). This space between the glass and the inclined surface a through which the disks are shot by means of the gun G, in playing the game, may be termed the alley. The pockets at the upper end of this inclined alley, are formed by fixing a number of partition-strips m at intervals apart across the top of the inclined surface in such manner that the space between the glass top and the inclined surface a at or near the top is divided into a number of pockets E. The bottom of each pocket is composed of a separate panel a so litted between the partition-strips and the end of the incline as to lie flush with the top-face of the incline, but also capable of a limited drop, or movement dowmvardly. The pocket or depression in the inclined surface thus formed by dropping the bottom of the pocket below the plane of the inclined surface is su'lliciently deep for a disk to lodge in it when shot from the lower end of the incline.

Before a disk is'fired from the gun the bottom of the selected pocket is dropped and is locked in that position through the medium of a lever 19 connected with the drop-bottom by a rod 8 and provided with a finger-key Q on the free end for depressing the lever. A fixed shaft t in the lower part of the case forms a common fulcrum for the levers p, which extend forward through slits at the front of the table where the linger-keys are arranged in position for ready selection and operation by the player. Springs 6 under the panel n return it to position when the key is released.

The keys are controlled by a locking-bar to that acts upon the key-levers in such manner that when any one of the keys is selected and pressed for the purpose of drawing down the bottom of the pocket which corresponds to the selected key, the player is unable to operate another key without releasing the key previously selected and pressed. Thus the effect of pressing down a second key is always to release and restore the previously set key to its normal, inoperative position. To that end the bar w being movable longitudinally in guides across the compartment under the inclined surface is provided with a'hooked shaped projection 2 for each keylever. Each hook 2 is in such close relation to a lug or shoulder 3 on the associated lever that the downward stroke of the lever as its key is depressed by the player has the effect to bring the lug 3 into engagement with and cause it to catch under the hook 2. All the projections 2 are situated on the same side of the key-levers and the top face of the hook 2 is beveled so as to cause the slide-bar when it strikes the key-lever to move the slide-bar back until the hook clears the lug 3. The tension of a coiled spring 4 attached to the bar acts to draw it in the direction to bring the hook over the lug 3 and there by lock the key-lever. A short longitudinal movement of the slide-bar w thus takes place as often as a key is pressed down, and the effect of such movement is to release the lever of any key that was previously pressed down and locked. A short stroke of any key-lever just enough to throw the slide-bar back with out causing the lug 3 on the key to be caught by the hook on the bar w will also have the effect to release any key-lever already locked and restore the pockets to their normal inoperative condition ready for another case.

The pockets are given difi'erent numerical values, according to their position across the top of the incline, the value being indicated by numerals or distinguishing marks or characters on the top-rail of the table directly over the pockets.

In the operation of the apparatus, the player proceeds to select and put in operative condition any selected one of the pockets by pressing down at the front of the case the key corresponding to the pocket selected by him from the row at the top of the incline. Then inserting a projectile in the gun through the opening in its top, the player trains the gun upon the pocket in which he is required to lodge the projectile. The gun being pivotally mounted at the bottom of the incline is readily movedin an arc of suflicient range to take in the outermost pockets in the row as well as the intermediate ones. On drawing back the spring and letting it go, the player is able to throw the projectile up the incline with sufficient force to place it in the pocket. If the aim be true the projectile will lodge in the pocket, where it will be caught by the ledge produced by depressing the bottom, and the player scores according to the value of the pocket which catches the projectile. On the other hand, if the projectile fails to be caught in the pocket it slides down the incline against and finally drops through the slot 0 at the bottom of the incline, and is deposited in the compartment beneath, where it cannot be reached by the player. The rear panel of the table is usually made removable, to afford access to the interior.

hat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a game apparatus, a table having a plane-surface provided with a plurality of pockets across one end, an adjustable springactuated gun at the opposite end of the planesurface adapted to impel a projectile over the surface toward the pockets, a glass top covering said surface and the pockets, and means for selecting and placing in operative condition any selected one of said pockets and rendering inoperative for the time all the remaining pockets.

In a game apparatus, a table having an inclined surface, a plurality of pockets located across the upper end of the incline, means for selecting and placing any one of said pockets in operative condition and the remaining pockets temporarily out of operative condition, and a spring-actuated gun pivotally mounted at the lower end of the incline and adjustable in a plane parallel with the said inclined surface, the gun being adapted to fire a projectile up the inclined surface.

3. A game apparatus comprising an inclined plane having a plurality of pockets across the upper end of the incline separated by standing-strips, a drop-bottom to each pocket, a glass top covering the inclined plane and the pockets and preventing access thereto, means operative from the outside for setting the drop-bottoms below the plane of the incline, a locking-out device operating to prevent the drop bottoms from the remaining parts from being moved after the bottom of a selected one of the pockets is set for action, and a spring-actuated gun pivotally mounted at the bottom of the incline and adapted to impel a projectile through the glass top, said gun being adjustable in an when any one key is selected and operated.

' are on its pivot. In testimony whereof I have signed my 4. In a game apparatus, an inclined surname to this specification in the presence of 5 face havifig a plurality of pockets across its two subscribing witnesses. upper en a drop-bottom to each pocket, H 1 w 7 key-actuated means to each pocket for draw- WALlhh rHIOMAS' ing down and locking the drop bottom below Witnesses: the plane of the incline, and means actuated HARRY J. WELDoN,

10 by each key operating to temporarily lock LEON F. NOAH.

the alley between said inclined surface and '1 out all the remaining key-actuated means l 

